Theme Of Secrets And Lies In The Death Of A Salesman

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The Death of a Salesman: Secrets and Lies

The Loman family in The Death of a Salesman is blinded by the ideal of a perfect life and employ lies to maintain their perspective of one another in tact. Each member shares their own set of secrets and lies that contribute to the dysfunctionality found within the family. Willy, Linda, Biff and Happy all have their own agenda in an attempt to preserve their well being, whether it was with good intention or not. The addiction to secrets and lies that the Lomans share has deteriorated their relationship resulting in The Death of a Salesman. Secrets have kept an emotional gap in the Loman’s family. As they each continue to hide secrets, it further causes them to …show more content…

Consequently, the keeping of this secret affects him since he does not know how to deal with the pressure involved with maintaining such a secret. When asked by Linda why Willy is a fake, he states, “Just don’t lay it all at my feet. It’s between me and him—that’s all I have to say.” As he allows the secret to eat away at his relationship with his father, it in turn creates a gap in his relationship with everyone else. Linda, in turn, has kept the secret of Willy’s suicide attempts to herself for a while. However, at one point she confesses it to the boys by saying, “they have evidence that all these accidents in the last year -weren’t-weren’t-accidents.’’ While she kept this a secret from the boys in hope of preserving the view they had of their father, she unknowingly caused them guilt to a matter they had no control of. Unlike the others, Willy’s whole existence is based on secrets and lies. However, the secret that causes the greatest detriment to the family is …show more content…

Willy’s lies range from the white lies he used to boost his confidence to the amount of money he earns for the family. He claimed “I didn’t have to wait to see a buyer.” Despite this being one of his smaller lies, it builds up the illusion that he is successful in his job rather than admit his need for help. One of the most potent lies that Willy allowed his mind to manifest is the profit he has earned. After coming home from a business trip he states,“Five hundred gross in Providence." However, when his wife insists on the truth, his amount shows a decrease to “roughly two hundred gross on the whole trip.’’ Willy quickly admits his actual income for the trip, yet we realize that this attempt at an outrageous lie is what has gotten him so caught up in his

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